


A Troll to Cry On

by BungaloTransfer (TerminalMiraculosis)



Category: Hiveswap
Genre: AU cause the train doesnt blow up immediately, Act 2 Spoilers, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, The shippy-ness of it is not any more than canon really, i guess, just flirting and blushing and all that good stuff, never thought i would write anything for homestuck-adjacent fandoms but here I am I guess, so that joey can go back and talk with her goth gf one more time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:27:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27736849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TerminalMiraculosis/pseuds/BungaloTransfer
Summary: Joey has had a very, very trying twenty four hours, and after adjusting the course of the train, it all starts catching up with her; especially what happened with the highbloods. Fortunately, when she's at her lowest, Elwurd is willing to lend an ear.Contains spoilers for Hiveswap Act II.
Relationships: Joey Claire & ?????? Elwurd, Joey Claire/?????? Elwurd
Comments: 5
Kudos: 65





	A Troll to Cry On

**Author's Note:**

> Just needed to get this out of my system after finishing the game and being unjustly barred from seeing any more Joey & Elwurd dialog. So, this time, the bomber drone or whatever waits a little, out of politeness I suppose. (By the way, Act II slapped so hard, and traffic cone horns gang all the way.)

“Damn,” Elwurd said as she caught sight of Jhoeey (she was pretty sure that was the spelling, anyway) and her little rusty friend step out of the elevator. “StiLL aLive, huh, cutie?”

Jhoeey glanced up with a small ‘hm?’, looking decidedly out of whack. “Oh, uh—hey, Elwurd.”

“Jeez, for someone who puLLed off a miracLe you’re Looking pretty down in the dumps.”

Jhoeey let out a sigh, flopping herself down on the seat right next to Elwurd. Like,  _ right _ next to her. Remele rolled her eyes from across the table; Elwurd didn’t notice.

“I just… didn’t think I’d  _ actually _ have to kill anyone,” she mumbled. “It sucks. I hate it. I hate this. And I hate that I didn’t have a choice.”

Elwurd widened her eyes. “Wait, shit, you actuaLLY kiLLed a highbLood?”

“I had to!” Jhoeey protested. “Or, well—I mean, I guess Xefros killed him, actually, but I was complicit!”

“Xefros?”

“Hi,” said the scrawny burgundy that Elwurd had forgotten was still here.

“Oh, I forgot you were stiLL here,” she said.

“I get that a lot,” Xefros admitted. 

Elwurd believed him.

“I’m just—really shaken up,” Jhoeey went on. 

Elwurd shrugged, throwing an arm around Jhoeey’s shoulders. Jhoeey seemed to immediately realize how close they were sitting, and her face started growing pink. (Man, she had one  _ weird _ skin mutation.) 

“I mean, the way I see it,” Elwurd said, “they asked you to try and kiLL them, right? So it was consensuaL.”

“I don’t—I don’t  _ care _ whether it was  _ consensual _ or not!” Jhoeey snapped. She had that expression that Elwurd had seen a few times on her before, like Elwurd had said something wrong, though Elwurd never really understood what it was she was saying that was wrong. It  _ was _ cute, though. “He used to be  _ alive, _ and now he’s  _ not! _ And it’s  _ my _ fault!”

Elwurd raised an eyebrow. “It’s your fauLt that you got roped into a dark carnivaL murder game?”

“I should’ve… done something!” Jhoeey protested, throwing out a hand. Her eyes were beginning to tear up. “Or—or—or found another solution, or a loophole, or…” She choked out a sob, pressing her hands up to her face. “I didn’t want anybody to die.”

Elwurd sighed. “Yeah, weLL. You know how it is when cLowns get invoLved. Murder’s kind of their thing. I mean, there are a Lot of troLLs who Like murder, but the highbLoods especiaLLy.”

“You—that’s—ugh!” And there was that one expression again, except this time she was crying. That made it a lot less cute, but Elwurd still found herself caring anyway. “Don’t you know how… fudged up that sounds? This is all wrong! No society should be like this, no—no  _ planet _ should be like this, no one should be like this! It’s so violent and cruel and unfeeling and dystopian! How do you  _ live _ like this?!”

Xefros interrupted his current gameplan of ‘standing awkwardly nearby’ to reach out a hand towards Jhoeey. “I know it’s bad, Joey, but, I mean, that’s why Dammek and I—”

“No!” Jhoeey turned on him, slapping his hand away. “I don’t need your  _ stupid  _ rebellion right now, Xefros! I hate this stupid train, I hate this murder planet, I hate your evil species, I just want to go  _ home!” _

“Um—I, um—” Xefros rubbed nervously at the back of his neck, taking a step backwards. “I… need to go to the bathroom.”

He gave one last look over at Jhoeey before hurrying over to the teal car. Elwurd watched him go, then turned curiously back to the crying girl next to her. “So, uh. When you said you weren’t from around here, did you mean…”

Jhoeey silently flipped the hood off her hoodie, revealing a horrifyingly hornless head. Elwurd’s eyes widened.

“Oh, wow, she’s an aliene,” Remele said disinterestedly from where she was sitting. “Shoquing. However coulde one have seene this coming.”

“Hey, not now, Rem,” Elwurd said icily, before turning back to Jhoeey. Or… “So, is your name, Like,  _ actuaLLy _ Jhoeey, then?”

“Yeah,” she mumbled. “J-O-E-Y.”

“Oh. I’ve never met anyone with a four Letter name before. Kinda wiLd.”

“It’s really not.”

“WeLL, uh.” Elwurd sighed. “What’s your home Like?”

Joey turned an eye on her. It was red and puffy. “Why do you care?”

“I’ve done, Like, 18 favors for you or whatever now, and onLy  _ now _ you ask me why I care?” Elwurd smirked. “For the record, though, it’s ‘cause you’re cute.”

“I—o-oh. Do you really—? Um.” Joey shrunk in on herself, doing that weird pink blush again. What, did she have pink blood or something? Now that’d be fucking wack. “My… home planet is called Earth. It’s a lot less violent than alternia.”

“Yeah, got that impression. Sounds Like a nice pLace.” Elwurd tapped a claw against the tabletop. “So, how’d a sweet thing Like you end up aLL the way over on this stupid murder pLanet?”

Joey winced. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.”

Elwurd laughed. “Joey, if you wanna offend me, you’re gonna have to try a bit harder than that. I may be ceruLean but that doesn’t mean I can’t recognize a shithoLe when I Live in one. But, what, did you hop a suppLy ship after the Empress forked your pLanet or something?”

“No, I—” Joey swallowed. “My house got attacked by these horrible monster thingies, and as I was trying to run away and not get eaten, I found this weird portal in my attic, and when I activated it, it spit me out in some creepy dude’s basement here. Also, uh, don’t tell Xefros I called his romance-friend creepy, it’s kind of a touchy subject right now.”

“Seem to be a Lot of those fLoating around right now,” Elwurd said. “ALso, what the fuck? There was just a portaL to ALternia in your attic?”

Joey groaned. “Look, I don’t know, okay? None of this makes any sense.”

“Right." She looked over at Joey curiously. "So, hey, not to butt in on shit that isn’t my business, but what’s your quadrant with that rusty, anyway?” Elwurd asked. “I thought I was having trouble pinning you two down before just between fLushed and paLe, but then you went and puLLed some pitchy shit just now, and I'm even _more_ Lost—cause, Like, Lemme just teLL you, I’ve had my fair share of being puLLed into some vaciLLating ashen fuckery and I’m not about to go down that road again.”

Joey gave her what was possibly the most unimpressed look Elwurd had ever seen in her life. “I’m not in  _ any _ quadrants with him. Not flushed, or calligraphy, or whatever. Don’t get me  _ started _ on your weird troll romance. Xefros tried to explain it to me already and it’s so convoluted…”

“Okay, two things. One: that means you’re singLe, right?”

Joey’s eyes widened. “W-what? W-well, I mean, yeah, I—I guess I am, huh? Haha!”

“Mmhmm,” Elwurd hummed. “And two, how is your worLd’s romance different? Not for any reason, of course.”

“Oh! Well, um, we only have one quadrant. The… flushed? Quadrant? Where you like the other person and kiss them and stuff.”

“Yeah that’s fLushed,” Elwurd affirmed. “That’s fucking wack. OnLy one quadrant? How does that work?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never had a boyfriend,” Joey said automatically. “Or, um—a, uh, a girlfriend? That’s—that’s another thing. You guys can really just… date whoever? Like, you date other girls? And that’s not… weird?”

“Whhhhhhy wouLd that be weird?” Elwurd asked.

“Well, it—it  _ is _ weird on Earth,” Joey said. “Or, well, some people think it’s weird. A lot of people. And it’s  _ definitely _ uncommon even if it isn’t weird. It’s, um, called being a lesbian, and, well—I don’t know, it’s really weird that you guys don’t seem to care at all.”

“You guys have a whoLe term for girLs who romance other girLs? I mean, shit, I’d just caLL that good taste.”

Joey laughed weakly. “As I said, it’s pretty unusual. I hadn’t even met any, um, any lesbians until Alternia.”

“Aight, so miLLion credit question, then.” Elwurd leaned forward over the table, giving Joey her best Look. “Are  _ you _ one of these fabLed ‘Lesbians’?”

“M-m-m-me?” Joey swallowed. “Well, I don’t know, it’s, um, well, it’s just, I don’t know, I’ve never really thought about it before and like even if I  _ did _ had thought about it, like a  _ lot, _ I would probably question if a lot of things that I’ve felt in the past were actually  _ different _ things than I thought they were and then I would probably get really confused and I’m not sure I be able to come to any sort of solid conclusion on the matter. You know?”

Elwurd blinked. “Right.”

“And then—well—and then maybe I go to this weird troll society with its weird troll customs and there’s like, a bunch of gay people! And maybe someone starts flirting with me? But I don’t really, you know, don’t really know it’s flirting for a while because it’s just, well, I just get nervous in front of girls sometimes, probably because they’re pretty and so I feel less pretty in comparison which makes me self conscious, but I still like admire them and really really want to be their friend or something, right?”

“Uh huh,” Elwurd said, nodding.

“But then my friend tells me that she’s actually been  _ flirting _ with me this whole time so I—well—I mean I don’t believe him at first of course because I mean that’s  _ crazy _ she’s not flirting with me she’s a girl and I’m a girl and she’s just being nice and calling me cute I guess but it’s not  _ flirting _ except, oh my god, she’s totally flirting with me, and, like, jeez, oh man I really don’t know how to deal with this and I’m just now realizing that I’m being SUPER obvious with this hypothetical right now and you totally know that I’m talking about you so I’m just gonna try to disappear forever now?”

“Heh.” Elwurd smiled. “You’re stiLL cute, though.”

“NooooOOOOO stop  _ saying _ things like that!”

“You can’t teLL me what to do, cutie.”

Joey crossed her arms and huffed. “Ugh. You’re the  _ worst.” _

“GLad you seem to be feeLing better, at Least,” Elwurd said. “Even though I’m the worst.”

“I… yeah.” She managed to crack a small smile, her cheeks still dusted with that unique alien blush. “I guess I am.”

“Might want to go check on your friend,” Elwurd advised. “I think he’d appreciate it.”

Joey’s eyes widened, and she hastily pulled her hoodie back up, readjusting the ‘horns.’ “Oh no, Xefros! I wasn’t thinking, I was so rude! Oh, I hope he forgives me…”

“Joey, a LowbLood has to be abLe to forgive a heLL of a Lot worse than rudeness to survive out here. I’m sure you two wiLL be just fine.”

“Yeah, but I still  _ feel _ bad,” Joey murmured. She let out a resolute huff, and then stood up, radiating that confidence she always seemed to be able to muster up somehow. “Alright. Thanks, Elwurd. For talking with me. And… I’ll see you around?”

Elwurd winked. “You know where to find me.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading!!


End file.
